That was a busy weekend for me, but didn’t really provide much fodder for an update because I spent the whole time on a motorcycle trip.\u00a0 I could cover our “week in dining” experiences I guess, just for the sake of typing.\u00a0 We’ve been trying several more of the local restaurants since the smoking ban took effect, and have hit on a few winners.\u00a0 Last week we tried The Gaff and a new Mexican place at the corner of 75th & Wornall.\u00a0 The name of the Mexican place escapes me at the moment…\u00a0 Cantina Del Rey maybe?\u00a0 It got high marks in my book at any rate, it might even bear a few repeat visits.\u00a0 The Gaff was good too, but the atmosphere was a bit boisterous for old folks like us.\u00a0 This was mostly due to one particular patron though;\u00a0 Maybe she won’t be there next time, or maybe if she is Munkirs will lend me his tranquilizer darts.\u00a0 Or who knows, maybe she’ll find her “indoor voice” over the next few weeks.\u00a0 Or perhaps, equally more unlikely, noisy people will cease to bother me, you just never know.<\/p>\n
Anyway, my weekend was spent riding my motorcycle up to Des Moines for my Uncle Roy’s 60th birthday party.\u00a0 After carefully watching the weather forecasts all morning, I finally took off Saturday afternoon.\u00a0 The map I printed out estimated my travel time at 3 hours;\u00a0 Some how or another it took me 5 1\/2 hours.\u00a0 Man I know I don’t exactly break the sound barrier, but I didn’t think I was going that<\/em> slow.\u00a0 I did dawdle in Indianola for a while I guess.\u00a0 That’s where Mom is from, so I drove by my Grandparent’s house (I think) and a few other local “landmarks of my youth.”\u00a0 It was a fine day for riding, that’s for sure, so I enjoyed it no matter how long.\u00a0 Not too often you get an August afternoon in the low 80’s around here.\u00a0 I’d made a few key equipment upgrades since last year’s ride to Hermann<\/a> too, all of which helped out in varying degrees.\u00a0 Probably the biggest improvement was my new seat, followed by the mesh jacket, and then the much-maligned tank bag.\u00a0 The tank bag served no purpose other than to carry my map in a readable position, but that helped immensely.\u00a0 Oh I also got some new headphones for my Ipod recently, and they performed just famously.\u00a0 They are the kind that mash in your ears with the silicone pieces, so they fit very nicely under my helmet and effectively seal out most of the wind and traffic noise.\u00a0 That way I can hear my tunes at a decent volume, without having to crank it up to an ear-drum damaging level.\u00a0 Plus, I’ll never even hear the semi coming just before it turns me into a grease spot, which should cut down on my anxiety.\u00a0 I think the only thing left on the “upgrade” list is a windshield, but I’m just not sure I’m ready to turn that corner yet.<\/p>\n I made it to my Uncle’s house around 5:30, just in time for the party.\u00a0 Roy is something of a gourmet, so he had quite the assortment of feed out all evening.\u00a0 There were several artisan cheeses, prociutto-wrapped figs, a walnut\/parsley salad, tuna, pepper relish (big hit,) and even some anchovies, which I ate way too many of.\u00a0 In addition to the birthday celebration, the fiesta also marked the unveiling of his new patio, which had been completed a few weeks ago.\u00a0 It was quite an impressive structure;\u00a0 I would have taken pictures to share but I don’t want Donette seeing it.\u00a0 She’d have a contractor on the phone in minutes.<\/p>\n I spent the night at their house, then after a solid base of biscuits and gravy at the local diner and a driving tour of Des Moines, I headed back south.\u00a0 They directed me to a large four-lane structure near their house called an “Interstate,” and this seemed to make a considerable difference in my travel time on the way home.\u00a0 It was another fine day out so I still didn’t get in too much of a hurry, sort of alternating between I-35 and 69 hwy, depending on how I felt at the moment.\u00a0 This new route shaved a rather remarkable hour and a half off my total trip time though.\u00a0 Good grief there were a lot of bugs out yesterday though.\u00a0 My formerly solid grey helmet is now a rather mottled pattern of varying color.\u00a0 Might want to add “windshield wiper” to the upgrade list too, if they make such a thing for helmets.\u00a0 I pulled into the house around 4:00, and we promptly headed down to the Brooksider for a travel-recap and a little dinner, then I went back home and wiped out on the couch about 7:00.\u00a0 That motorcycling will take it out of you I guess.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" That was a busy weekend for me, but didn’t really provide much fodder for an update because I spent the whole time on a motorcycle trip.\u00a0 I could cover our “week in dining” experiences I guess, just for the sake of typing.\u00a0 We’ve been trying several more of the local restaurants since the smoking ban 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